02270nas a2200229 4500008004100000245011800041210006900159260001200228300000900240490000700249520153800256653002501794653002501819653001701844653002201861653002001883100001801903700002301921700002101944700002901965856004601994 2024 eng d00aPermanent stress adaptation and unexpected high light tolerance in the shade-adapted Chlamydomonas priscui0 aPermanent stress adaptation and unexpected high light tolerance  c08/2024 a22540 v133 a

The Antarctic photopsychrophile, Chlamydomonas priscui UWO241, is adapted to extreme environmental conditions, including permanent low temperatures, high salt, and shade. During long-term exposure to this extreme habitat, UWO241 appears to have lost several short-term mechanisms in favor of constitutive protection against environmental stress. This study investigated the physiological and growth responses of UWO241 to high-light conditions, evaluating the impacts of long-term acclimation to high light, low temperature, and high salinity on its ability to manage short-term photoinhibition. We found that UWO241 significantly increased its growth rate and photosynthetic activity at growth irradiances far exceeding native light conditions. Furthermore, UWO241 exhibited robust protection against short-term photoinhibition, particularly in photosystem I. Lastly, pre-acclimation to high light or low temperatures, but not high salinity, enhanced photoinhibition tolerance. These findings extend our understanding of stress tolerance in extremophilic algae. In the past 2 decades, climate change-related increasing glacial stream flow has perturbed long-term stable conditions, which has been associated with lake level rise, the thinning of ice covers, and the expansion of ice-free perimeters, leading to perturbations in light and salinity conditions. Our findings have implications for phytoplankton survival and the response to change scenarios in the light-limited environment of Antarctic ice-covered lakes.

10aCyclic electron flow10aenvironmental change10aextremophile10aphoto-acclimation10aphotoinhibition1 aPopson, Devon1 aD’Silva, Susanna1 aWheeless, Kaylie1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttps://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/13/16/225403572nas a2200301 4500008004100000245010000041210006900141260001200210300001100222490000800233520264300241653002302884653001002907653002002917653002202937653002602959653001902985653001603004100002603020700002103046700002303067700001403090700002603104700002303130700001603153700002903169856007203198 2022 eng d00aPhotosynthetic adaptation to polar life: Energy balance, photoprotection and genetic redundancy0 aPhotosynthetic adaptation to polar life Energy balance photoprot c01/2022 a1535570 v2683 a

The persistent low temperature that characterize polar habitats combined with the requirement for light for all photoautotrophs creates a conundrum. The absorption of too much light at low temperature can cause an energy imbalance that decreases photosynthetic performance that has a negative impact on growth and can affect long-term survival. The goal of this review is to survey the mechanism(s) by which polar photoautotrophs maintain cellular energy balance, that is, photostasis to overcome the potential for cellular energy imbalance in their low temperature environments. Photopsychrophiles are photosynthetic organisms that are obligately adapted to low temperature (0-15 °C) but usually die at higher temperatures (≥20 °C). In contrast, photopsychrotolerant species can usually tolerate and survive a broad range of temperatures (5-40 °C). First, we summarize the basic concepts of excess excitation energy, energy balance, photoprotection and photostasis and their importance to survival in polar habitats. Second, we compare the photoprotective mechanisms that underlie photostasis and survival in aquatic cyanobacteria and green algae as well as terrestrial Antarctic and Arctic plants. We show that polar photopsychrophilic and photopsychrotolerant organisms attain energy balance at low temperature either through a regulated reduction in the efficiency of light absorption or through enhanced capacity to consume photosynthetic electrons by the induction of O2 as an alternative electron acceptor. Finally, we compare the published genomes of three photopsychrophilic and one photopsychrotolerant alga with five mesophilic green algae including the model green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We relate our genomic analyses to photoprotective mechanisms that contribute to the potential attainment of photostasis. Finally, we discuss how the observed genomic redundancy in photopsychrophilic genomes may confer energy balance, photoprotection and resilience to their harsh polar environment. Primary production in aquatic, Antarctic and Arctic environments is dependent on diverse algal and cyanobacterial communities. Although mosses and lichens dominate the Antarctic terrestrial landscape, only two extant angiosperms exist in the Antarctic. The identification of a single ‘molecular key’ to unravel adaptation of photopsychrophily and photopsychrotolerance remains elusive. Since these photoautotrophs represent excellent biomarkers to assess the impact of global warming on polar ecosystems, increased study of these polar photoautotrophs remains essential.

10agenomic redundancy10alight10aphotoprotection10aphotopsychrophily10aphotopsychrotolerance10aPhotosynthesis10atemperature1 aHüner, Norman, P. A.1 aSmith, David, R.1 aCvetkovska, Marina1 aZhang, Xi1 aIvanov, Alexander, G.1 aSzyszka-Mroz, Beth1 aKalra, Isha1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S017616172100196602179nas a2200121 4500008004100000245006300041210006300104260002600167520172200193100002201915700002901937856009101966 2018 eng d00aPhysiological and Biochemical Adaptations of Psychrophiles0 aPhysiological and Biochemical Adaptations of Psychrophiles aBoca RatonbCRC Press3 a

The cold biosphere encompasses many microorganism-dominated habitats that rely on light-dependent primary production. Within these environments, there are numerous physical and chemical factors limiting metabolism and growth that the microorganisms must overcome. The psychrophilic microorganisms discussed herein integrate a complex spectrum of adaptive strategies to survive these physiological challenges, including genome evolution, enzyme structure and catalysis rate changes, cryoprotectant formation, and a multitude of photosynthetic adaptations. Psychrophilic organisms also hold the key to biotechnical advances and the future, such that psychrophilic enzymes are used for everything from laboratory reagents and industrial work to medical research and environmental sustainability. Researchers have learned to exploit psychrophiles’ efficiency at low temperatures (i.e., cooler washing machines and energy-saving, cost-effective enzyme production), their higher energy activity (thus allowing lower concentrations of needed catalysts, reducing costs and procedure time), and their ability to contribute to hydrocarbon bioremediation. Although psychrophilic microbes exist in numerous habitats and undergo various adaptive strategies, an understanding of what makes an organism psychrophilic is still unknown in a large majority of cold-adapted organisms, and thus future investigations are needed regarding cold adaptation and their biotechnological potential. Even as research has increased over the last decade, new technological advances and high-throughput DNA sequencing will continue to provide information about cold adaptation or the mechanisms needed for survival in a changing world.

1 aTeufel, Amber, G.1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttps://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781498774932/chapters/10.1201%2F9781315154695-904082nas a2200157 4500008004100000245010000041210006900141260001200210490000700222520353000229100002903759700002503788700001803813700002103831856007203852 2016 eng d00aPhotoadaptation to the polar night by phytoplankton in a permanently ice-covered Antarctic lake0 aPhotoadaptation to the polar night by phytoplankton in a permane c05/20150 v613 a

Photosynthetic microorganisms are a primary source of new organic carbon production in polar ecosystems. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about how they adapt to the bimodal solar cycles that exist at high latitudes. To understand how phytoplankton adapt to the extreme seasonal change in photoperiod, we transplanted cultures of a well-studied laboratory model for photosynthetic cold adaptation, Chlamydomonas raudensis UWO241, back to the water column of Lake Bonney (McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica) at the depth from which it was originally cultured. The organism was suspended at this depth in dialysis tubing to allow the microalga to respond to the in situ light, temperature and dissolved ions. We then integrated in situ biological and chemical measurements with environmental molecular analyses and compared the responses of transplanted C. raudensis cultures with the natural phytoplankton community over the 6-week transition from Antarctic summer (24-h daylight) to polar night (24-h darkness). As solar radiation declined, natural communities exhibited a cessation of inorganic carbon fixation which was accompanied by a downregulation of expression of genes encoding for essential carbon fixation and photochemistry proteins. Transplanted C. raudensis cultures matched natural community trends in the regulation of photochemistry and carbon fixation gene expression, and shifted photochemical function to a shade adapted state in response to the polar night transition. We present a conceptual model for seasonal shifts in microbial community energy and carbon acquisition which integrates past cultivation-based studies in this model photopsychrophile with a body of recent work on adaptation of natural populations to polar night.

1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M.1 aLizotte, Michael, P.1 aKong, Weidong1 aPriscu, John, C. uhttps://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lno.1010700623nas a2200181 4500008004100000245010000041210006900141260001100210300001600221490000600237100002100243700002100264700001800285700002000303700002100323700002900344856006800373 2011 eng d00aProtist diversity in a permanently ice-covered Antarctic Lake during the polar night transition0 aProtist diversity in a permanently icecovered Antarctic Lake dur c9/2011 a1559 - 15640 v51 aBielewicz, Scott1 aBell, Elanor, R.1 aKong, Weidong1 aFriedberg, Iddo1 aPriscu, John, C.1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M. uhttp://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/v5/n9/abs/ismej201123a.html